Monthly Archives: November 2015

We urge all supporters of 15 Now Minnesota to fight for #Justice4Jamar by joining the 4th precinct occupation, donating to the legal fund, or writing a letter to the editor. Statement written by 15 Now MN steering committee, photo via Black Lives Matter Minneapolis.

The whole world is watching the latest battleground in the movement for black lives. For several days, large crowds have gathered to demand #Justice4Jamar. Jamar Clark died of a gunshot wound to the head inflicted by a police officer last week. Multiple witnesses say he was shot while handcuffed, “execution style.” Many 15 Now volunteers are participating in the peaceful protest and occupation at the front entry of the 4th precinct police station in Minneapolis.

We in 15 Now Minnesota join our brothers and sisters in Black Lives Matter Minneapolis, MN Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (NOC), and the Minneapolis NAACP in demanding the following:

2) That any prosecution of Officers Ringgenberg and Schwarze bypass a grand jury, which is not required by law

3) That the U.S. Department of Justice investigate the homicide as well as police abuses against peaceful protestors at the #4thPrecinctShutDown

4) That the Minneapolis Police Department cease its aggression and escalation tactics against peaceful protestors exercising their civil rights

These demands concern matters of basic transparency, fairness, and freedom that all people should support. We commend the young leaders of color whose outstanding efforts are sustaining the occupation, and who have also done excellent work with us for a $15 minimum wage, fair scheduling, paid sick days, and ending wage theft. We agree that state-sponsored violence against the Black community is deeply connected to economic inequality. We stand with you in demanding #Justice4Jamar, because until there is justice, there can be no true peace. #BlackLivesMatter

Thousands of workers across the country took action to demand a $15 minimum wage and other workers’ rights issues, for fair schedules, union rights and paid sick time.

In many cities, workers squarely addressed the political inaction of elected officials. Hundreds flooded into city hall or rallied in front of government buildings, to demand that local and state governments, who’ve been under enormous pressure from these rolling and escalating demonstrations and strikes, take urgent action on $15.

Here are a few highlighting reports from 15 Now members organizing across the country:

15 Now PhiladelphiaToday in Philly dozens of fast food workers walked off the job at 6am. After a 6am strike line at a North Philly McDonalds, workers staged actions at fast food restaurants across Philadelphia. At noon, fast food workers joined janitors organizing with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) to march on Comcast to demand $15 and a union for all Comcast workers. They attempted to enter the Comcast tower but were denied entrance by police.

The main action was a large march from City Hall to a McDonalds in Rittenhouse Square. About 400 people, including progressive City Coucilwoman-elect Helen Gym and State Senator Daylin Leach, who had introduced a statewide $15 minimum wage bill, were joined by teachers union and service worker union leaders. We took over the open-air center of City Hall and marched down Broad street. The march was high energy.

15 Now member and Temple student Zoe Buckwalter closed the rally with a call on Philadelphia’s incumbent Mayor and City Council to take immediate action as soon as they take office to introduce binding $15 minimum wage legislation January 2016 and talked about the ongoing campaign at Temple to win $15 for security officer, cafeteria workers, and student workers.
Watch Video of Lancaster, PA Subway worker #15Now

15 Now NJ
A few weeks after two county legislatures, the Essex and Hudson Boards of Chosen Freeholders, passed a resolution calling on the New Jersey State Legislature to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, the momentum to fight for $15 was strong in Jersey City. Despite the rain, dozens of workers and students gathered at Jersey City’s City Hall for a rally. Later, Jersey City’s City Council voted to support a statewide $15/hr minimum wage and Mayor Steve Fulop came out in support of the measure. Local organizing and the national #Fightfor15 movement has seriously shifted the conversation about poverty and inequality in New Jersey.
Check out this article covering the demonstration

15 Now PDX (click for full article)In Portland, OR hundreds of people marched and rallied for $15 and a union as part of the national day of action. The rally highlighted local janitors and homecare workers, who raised their voices to demand a $15 wage. There are about 9,000 janitors and homecare workers in the Portland area who still don’t make $15. They are being supported by the Portland Area Campaign for $15, a coalition made up of Portland Jobs of labor and community groups, including 15 Now PDX, that is working to raise wages to $15 for 30,000 Portland area workers by 2017 through contract negotiations, voluntary commitments, and new organizing campaigns.

At today’s Dia de Los Meurtos themed rally, workers and allies marched around the Pittock Building chanting to draw down good jobs with living wages. Earlier this year the Pittock Building began hiring out it’s janitorial services to a low-wage, non-union contractor. The building has been the site for other $15 and union protests over the past year.

15 Now Northwest Wisconsin
At 4:00 pm on Tuesday, November 10th, the Eau Claire Area School District’s Hourly Compensation Committee met at the school board office. The school district’s recently completed compensation study showed that many workers are underpaid, well under $15 an hour, though the administration has decided to withhold the annual inflationary wage adjustment of 1.67% to it’s lowest paid workers.

Members of 15 Now Northwest Wisconsin attended this meeting to demand that the ECASD administration grant this inflationary wage adjustment to all workers making less than $15 an hour.

15 Now organizer Ty Moore spoke with the Real News Network prior to a major day of action on November 10th. Low-wage workers, supporters, students and the labor movement are moving into action demanding $15/hour minimum wage and workers’ rights in hundreds of cities across the US. #FightFor15 #15Now

Last week Temple administration announced their intention to build a football stadium in North Philadelphia. President Theobald and the Board of Trustees intend to raise 100 million dollars for the project. The administration has not consulted with students, faculty, or the community about the massive project to tear up city blocks.

President Theobald and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Patrick O’Connor have made this decision without the approval of students, faculty, and the community. Temple University intends to use private funds from unnamed donors and $20 million dollars in state funds to move ahead with plans to further gentrify North Philadelphia, displace community resources and imperil funds needed to pay campus workers and minimize tuition costs . Temple University is a public school that belongs to its students, its workers, and the residents of North Philadelphia. It can not function as a corporation where presidents and chairmen are CEO’s; Temple is a public university and the people have a right to a voice in decisions that affect all aspects of the community. Our school is funded by student tuition money and taxpayer dollars. We as students and workers will be held accountable for misspent funds as we pay down student debt, and we deserve a voice in making decisions about how Temple utilizes its funds.

In a recent article published in the Daily News, staff writer David Murphy demonstrates that many other universities in similar locations and financial situations, like the University of Central Florida and Akron, have invested in on-campus stadiums with negative financial results. Schools have lost millions of dollars on stadiums and the extra administration they maintain to manage them and have used student tuition to pay for the extra costs. These stadium plans have frequently coincided with layoffs, wage cuts, and tuition hikes to offset million dollar deficits created by the football program.

In addition, the $20 million dollars of state funding pledged to Theobald by much-maligned former Republican Governor Corbett is taxpayer money that should be used to ease the burden of tuition and raise wages for workers. Public funds do not exist to build fiscally risky football stadiums, but to make college more accessible to all. This is our money, we have a right to say where it is spent, and we do not want the money spent on a stadium, we want it spent on students, workers, and community programs.

For years Temple has had negative relations with the community. From buying up properties and building the university out into local communities to over-policing of residents, Temple continues its assault on North Philadelphians day in and day out. While Temple claims to have good relations with its neighbors we know from extensive testimony and input from community leaders that the neighborhood has nothing but disdain and contempt for the university. Already Temple uses gentrification and police force to push residents further and further out. Already residents complain of the disrespect shown by some Temple students who engage in destructive and reckless behavior at late hours, littering the streets with trash and broken bottles. The South Philly stadiums are separate from the city itself, not placed in the middle of a residential neighborhood. An on-campus stadium will dramatically shift the culture of North Philadelphia from a residential area to a clogged commercial sporting complex filled with belligerent drinking, excessive noise, and unpredictable traffic patterns. President Theobald has already admitted there are no plans in place to handle the traffic of thousands of fans in a residential neighborhood.

Temple’s decision to build a 100 million dollar stadium shows where Temple’s priorities lie. While the board intends to raise tuition by 3% this year, they want to spend 100 million dollars to build a stadium. While campus workers are still paid under $15 an hour and students are the lowest paid workers, Temple decides to spend public funds on building a stadium. While adjunct professors, who make up the majority of the faculty, fight for the right to unionize and higher pay and benefits, Temple decides to spend money on building a stadium. While Temple has been instructed to build a sexual assault crisis center on campus and take rape and assault seriously, Temple decides to spend money on building a stadium. While the North Philadelphia community continues to suffer from deep poverty, food deserts, and lack of access to quality education, Temple decides to invest in building a football stadium. Temple president Neil Theobald and Chairman of the Board Patrick O’Connor are clearly out of touch with the everyday struggles of students, faculty, campus workers, and the surrounding community. Who does Temple have in mind in building the stadium? We can only assume the administration is looking to benefit investors, the corporations like Comcast and Duane Morris that dominate Board of Trustees, and the out-of-state students looking for a football centered school.

Temple was founded on the principle that higher education should be accessible to all and that working class people in North Philadelphia deserve affordable access to higher education. Temple is for the working people of Philadelphia, for people who live in North Philadelphia, and for students who are trying to get an education and better themselves.

We will not let this stadium plan pass through the board quietly. In the weeks to come we will be garnering support from students, workers, and the community. Temple must listen to the people that make up this university and the people that live in North Philadelphia. Here is a short list of things Temple university could be spending money on instead of building a football stadium.

Pay all workers including student workers and subcontracted workers at least $15/hr.

Provide scholarships for students.

Immediately freeze tuition hikes

Allow adjunct professors to unionize and provide full pay and benefits.

Invest in a sexual assault crisis center and making Temple a rape-free campus.

Invest in community relations and public access to university resources.

Build a program that provides a pathway to affordable higher education for North Philadelphia youth.

As students, faculty, workers, and community we deserve more from our public university